OH-07, 08 & 16: We Need Candidates

Ohio's filing deadline is just 10 days away (Feb. 16th). Unfortunately, we appear to have several holes in our lineup. Barry Welsh's Congressional race tracker site is a terrific resource. However, in some cases, it's over-inclusive, listing candidates whose names have been floated but who aren't necessarily running. Here are the problem districts:

OH-07: Sharen Neuhardt is not running. I am unsure of the status of Tony Bourne, another listed potential candidate, but his website appears to be down. Fortunately, a knowledgeable e-mailer tells me that a fellow named Dan Saks is planning on getting into the race. Hopefully this candidacy will in fact pan out.

OH-08: I haven't heard a peep about this CD, the home of the new GOP Majority Leader John Boehner. We need someone to run here so that we can keep pressure up on Boehner and make sure he stays linked to the GOP's corruption scandals. Yes, this is a super-red district, but simply running against the GOP's top guy ensures you'll get at least some media coverage.

OH-16: This is the district I'm most concerned about, particularly because it's the most viable of the three. The 16th CD has actually gotten a bit more Democratic recently: It went to Bush in 2000 by 11 points, but in 2004 by just 8 points. You may recall that this seat is held by Republican Ralph Regula, who demolished one-time blogosphere darling Jeff Seemann the last time out. (Regula won 67-33.)

Welsh's site lists Seemann as our candidate for this district once again, but this is very problematic:

Seemann's website isn't working.

His Blogspot blog hasn't been updated since 2004.

His TypePad blog hasn't been updated in over two months.

He never filed his final FEC report in 2004. An apparent proxy posting under Seemann's account claimed that he raised $130K in 2004. However, the reports he did file only cover some $60K in expenditures. If the $130K raised claim is true, that leaves $70,000 unaccounted for.

He has received a whopping six notices for his failure to file from the FEC, on 10/22/04, 12/17/04, 2/16/05, 5/2/05, 8/2/05 and 11/01/05.

He was fined $9,075 by the FEC in October of 2005 for his failure to file.

According to the DCCC's site, he has not yet filed to run.

In short, this is not the portrait of a responsible candidate. There is simply no way anyone will take you seriously if you're in arrears to the FEC and haven't even completed all your legally mandatory filings. Moreover, Seemann (with his $130K and broad netroots support) did only two points better than the Dem who ran in 2002 - and that guy didn't raise any money. The bottom line is that we need someone else to run in this district.

Again I say, Ohio's filing deadline is right around the corner, and we're three candidates short. Given the toll that scandal has taken on the OH GOP, and the seemingly resurgent fortunes of the Ohio Democratic Party, it would be a tragedy if we let three Republican seats go uncontested. Hopefully we'll see some last-minute filings, because 2006 is the year to be a Dem in Ohio.